Travel In Comfort With The Tempur® Travel Pillow

If you do a lot of travelling, it's fair to say you will be familiar with two things, a stiff neck and shoulders and a lack of sleep.

I don't know about you but I am always loathe to leave my own bed and, no matter, how comfortable my travel accommodation, extremely glad to see it again.

Now Tempur®, the only NASA certified mattress retailer, has come up with a way to take a little bit of home comfort with you when you travel such as this travel pillow.

There's a range of travel pillows such as the Tempur Transit Pillow which gently supports your head and neck, allowing you to sleep more comfortably when travelling.  It has a temperature sensitive, visco-elastic filling which forms to you with minimum counter pressure to help you relax.

Or the Tempur Comfort Travel Pillow which I was sent to try.  This is the mini version of Tempur's original Comfort Pillow and I can see that it will have far more uses than just a travel pillow.  If you suffer with a bad back, as I do, it's often useful to have extra support in the small of the back and this fits just right.

It's beautifully soft and comes with a removable soft fabric cover which can be washed at 60 degrees C and meets the Oeko-tex 100 standard which means that it has been tested for harmful substances and poses no threat to health.

I was also sent a Tempur Sleep Mask which is soft as butter, forms to your face and effectively blocks out the light.  It's easy to fit - simply adjust the velcro straps behind your head. With this and my trusty earplugs I'm away with the fairies in no time.

If you are planning to travel this summer, particularly with the kids, then here are some tips you might find useful - as road-tested by the Hobbis family.

1. Use black out blinds for the kids.  You can find portable ones that just attach to the window with sucker-pads.

2. Don't be afraid to nap - use the power of the siesta.  In any case we should all be staying out of the sun between 12 pm and 3 pm.

3. Make sure you take the kids' favourite comforters - but don't lose them.  We once had to trek across what seemed like half of Cornwall because Ieuan left 'blankie' in Tescos in Truro.

4 If it's hot you might find it cooler to stay in cotton pyjamas as the cotton will wick away any sweat.

5. You can find lots of tips to help your kids sleep in hot weather in this post.

5. Avoid alcohol and high sugar / high salt foods.

6. Avoid eating too close to sleeping.  A light supper is fine - a three course meal, not so much.

7. Stock up on bottled water but get it free at airports. A trick I read recently from moneysaving expert Martin Lewis is to take an empty water bottle through to the departure lounge and fill up with free water from one of the airport water fountains.

8. Carry the kids' pyjamas in your hand luggage so you don't have to route through suitcases to find their things. If nothing else we make sure we've got the kids' toothbrushes to hand

9. To avoid jet lag you might be better off staying up until the 'normal' bedtime in your new location to allow your body clock to reset

10 Ear plugs, eye masks and travel pillows are your friend. A decent travel pillow will help support your neck while you travel and add a comforting touch to your hotel bed.

In his book "The Fitness Mindset", health expert and author Brian Keane in his book gives some very helpful advice about improving the quality of our sleep.

In a study by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated one in three adults does not obtain the recommended hours of sleep and, according to the NHS, not sleeping enough can lead to immune system problems, weight gain and mood disorders in extreme cases. Add in the extra stress of travelling and you've a recipe for less than glowing health!

Brian has two very useful tips for improving your sleep and falling asleep properly.

Firstly he suggests avoiding the “second wind". This is a window from 10:45 PM to 11:00 PM when most people get naturally tired.

If you don’t go to sleep, you’ll get a cortisol (a steroid hormone) driven ‘second wind’ that can keep you awake until 2:00 AM or 3:00 AM. “If you can stick close to your body's circadian cycle and get to bed before 11:00 PM, you will wake up feeling more rested than if you get the same amount of sleep starting later.

Obviously easier said than done in a different time zone but if you know when you are likely to feel tired you can at least adapt and do something to boost yourself and stave off fatigue.

Secondly switch off your brain.  Journalling, meditation or even just some deep breathing may help. Perhaps you could carry a little travel journal to record your thoughts or write a list of things you are grateful for  (being seated together on an EasyJet flight?  no airport delays?)!

Travelling, whilst exhilirating, is often stressful and with some careful planning and understanding the needs of your body, you can do a lot to improve the quality of your sleep and rest, even when you're thousands of miles from home.

If you would like to try a Tempur travel pillow, why not take the Tempur Challenge which is running from now until 7th August.  Simply visit your local store, test a Tempur mattress and share your experience with Tempur.  Once you've registered your details, Tempur will email you with a date (21 days in advance) to revisit the store and claim your FREE pillow.  You can find out more about the Tempur Challenge here.

You can also find about more about Tempur on Facebook and Instagram.

This post is in conjunction with Tempur® but all thoughts are my own.

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Tips To Help Kids Sleep In Hot Weather

It's been so hot of late that the kids have really been struggling to get to sleep.  Ieuan can't quite believe how hot it is and keeps demanding that I turn the heating off!

Image credit: Pixabay

It's not so bad at the weekend because the kids can sleep in.  I say can but obviously they're still up early and then dissolve into a major grump around lunchtime. But on school nights, I really want to help them to get some sleep so that they can cope with their busy day.

I don't think altering their sleep schedule is a good idea, tempting though it is to let them stay up a bit longer to make the most of the lighter evenings.

Having worked so hard to get our kids into a regular sleep schedule, I would rather try to make their sleeping environment more comfortable.

Here are some tips you might find useful.

- let your kids sleep in the coolest room in the house and make sure that air can circulate around them, for example by removing any padding around a cot

- don't leave babies to sleep in a pram - they can be hot and airless.

- don't use a pillow or mattress that your baby sinks down into and put them to bed in just a nappy.

- keep curtains closed during the day and, if at home, keep the windows ajar.

- cover mattresses and waterproof sheets with thick layers of cotton sheets to absorb perspiration and prevent prickly heat rash.

- take duvets out of duvet covers and let kids sleep under these or just use a plan cotton flat sheet. If you still use a duvet make sure it is a low tog.

- or you could try letting them sleep under a very thin sleeping bag liner or under a damp towel while keeping the mattress protected with a washable mattress protection pad.

- close windows and stick blackout material on them during the hottest hours; you can open them again when it's cooler.

- consider investing in a small portable air conditioner unit

- some mums recommend letting their kids sleep with a wet tea towel on their chest or you could try a cool flannel on their feet if they won't kick it off!

- give kids a cool bath before bed.

- some advise spraying with a plant mister

- place a fan at a low level near a window to circulate the cooler air at night but keep it well away from little fingers.

- swop to light cotton nightwear which is excellent absorbing sweat and may actually keep you cooler than sleeping naked.

-  hang wet towels over chairs or windows to cool the air.

- put your child’s pillowcase or favourite toy in a plastic bag and place it in the fridge for a few hours before bed. When you take it out and put it in their bed, they’ll have a nice cool pillow to help them drift off with, or a cool toy to hug themselves to sleep with.

- you could also try wrapping the ice packs used for picnics in tea towels or filling a hot water bottle from the cold tap and placing it in the fridge.

It 's important to remember that sweating makes you lose both water with the risk of dehydration. This can be compounded if you have excessive and unprotected sun exposure.

Make sure you keep your water levels topped up and are using a suitable sunscreen for both you and the kids.

Have you any 'keep cool' tips to share?

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Review: The S+ - Your Personalised Sleep Solution By ResMed

It seems that the new frontier for managing and improving our health is sleep. Everyone is talking about how important it is.

Co-founder and Editor of the Huffington Post, Ariana Huffington, has even written a book about it entitled "The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life One Night At A Time" in which she asserts that only by renewing our relationship with sleep can we take back control of our lives.

Gwyneth Paltrow's book "Goop Clean Beauty" contains a whole chapter on sleeping soundly and the effect of a lack of sleep on our hormones (clue, it can make us fatter) and I recently reviewed "Breathe Better, Sleep Better" by Anandi The Sleep Guru which offers ways to bring your being back into balance and regain your sleep by breathing better.

Those of us approaching menopause or suffering from stress and anxiety may find that our sleep is one of the first things to suffer.

So what if there were a gadget which monitored both the quality and duration of our sleep - and offered ways to improve it?

Even better, what if there were a gadget you didn't have to wear?  I don't know about you but wearing a fitness tracker in bed has always seemed a bit odd to me.

The S+ by RedMed is the world’s first non-contact, fully comprehensive sleep tracking system, which features patent-protected SleepSensor technology. It makes it possible to track, analyse and improve sleep at home without a wristband, electrodes or mattress strips.

“Sleep is arguably the most important thing we do in our day. It’s easy to underestimate the impact that lack of it can have on our overall wellbeing.” said Dr. Guy Meadows, Clinical Director at The Sleep School and author of "The Sleep Book – How to sleep well every night." “We know lack of sleep can be harmful to our physical and mental health, yet we are doing very little to help improve our sleep. With its unique features, the S+ is the perfect present for those looking to improve not only the quantity but also the quality of their sleep.”

The S+ by ResMed comprises a device that sits beside the bed, a cloud-hosted Sleep Mentor system, and a free mobile app (Apple iOS and Android).

Its features include:

*highly calibrated respiratory and bio-motion sensor to measure and analyse sleep stages

*recording of the movements caused by the expansion and relaxation of the chest with breathing, and overall body movements such as position changes, arm twitches and shrugs

*delivery of sleep scores and sleep charts to a connected phone or tablet,

*personalised feedback and suggestions to help users improve their sleep.

The S+ also has a range of features to help improve sleep:

There's Relax to Sleep which provides a choice of soothing sounds that synchronise with breathing patterns to help with the process of falling asleep at bedtime.

Then there's Mind Clear allows users to record a voice message or type a text note to help clear their mind when trying to settle to sleep.

And Smart Alarm allows users to set a window of time for the S+ to naturally wake them when they are in light sleep, enabling them to wake feeling more refreshed.

At first I wondered if this gadget was going to be a gimmick but one week on and I'm hooked.

For a start you wake each morning to a sleep score which rates the night of sleep you've just had. Set-up couldn't be simpler - simply download the app, answer some basic questions and then sync your phone wirelessly with the main unit (which you place on your bedside table).

The S+ has a series of lights which indicate what the unit is doing. For example, there's a green light to indicate that the unit and your phone are connected and a red light to indicate that they're not - simple!

I am happy to report that once you start the app working as you go to sleep the light goes out completely.

As someone who has to cover those annoying red standby lights on TVs in hotel bedrooms because they keep me awake, I was very happy to find no such problem with this gadget. (High maintenance - me?).

There's also a second port in the main plug adaptor for you to charge your phone at the same time which is very useful.  I have found this very handy as the kids have always commandeered the charging cables for their iPads.

The app will also show you your breathing pattern in real time which is fascinating.  I have no idea how the S+ does this but it's great.

The S+ will also give you noise and light levels in your room.

You need to start up the app before going to sleep and you will be asked about your caffeine and alcohol consumption for that day, how stressed you were and how much exercise you've done.  (Too much, too little, extremely and when the heck do I have the time - are strangely not admissible answers).

You then have the option to clear your mind using Mind Clear.  Simply tap and record a helpful note or text to yourself.  You can also use this if you wake up in the middle of the night and remember that you need to do something important like buy lightbulbs or rearrange your crockery in order of size.

It's a very useful function for us bloggers too!

Once you have answered the questions, simply tap to start the app (which very sweetly bids you good night) and drift off.

Once you awake, simple hit the app button to switch off and look at your sleep score (this becomes a bit addictive).

You'll know how much light sleep, deep sleep and REM sleep you had, plus how recharged your body and mind are.

Through the day, the S+ also does some subtle nagging my mother would be proud of - viz sending messages about the effect of too much caffeine on sleep.  I haven't had a message about alcohol or lack of exercise yet but I suspect it's only a matter of time.

If you want to relax during the day, the unit also has a range of peaceful sounds (for example the sound of the ocean) which you can play via the app.  These are designed for you to breathe in time to which has an automatically calming effect.  An extra benefit for a Tinnitus sufferer like me is that focusing on your breath takes your mind off your Tinnitus. And, as you might expect, sleep is something that Tinnitus sufferers really struggle with.

The S+ is a brilliant system which allows you to explore the quality of sleep you are getting and to make some informed decisions to improve it.

There's a difference between knowing you're not getting enough sleep and seeing that you didn't even get 7 hours for the past three nights.  Equally, we all know that too much caffeine affects our sleep but confessing to 6+ cups every day does make you wonder whether you should try camomile tea or decaf (the devil's brew) instead.

The contactless aspect of the S+ is, to me, its major advantage over fitness trackers. The unit sits in a metal frame but you can remove it and place just the white box on your bedside table.  You do have to make sure that the unit is positioned correctly and near enough your head to pick up your breathing but the accompanying instructions make it a doddle to work out.

I loved the app which is complemented by the website Mysplus.com, where you can log in and see all your graphs and statistics full size with more data and advice about improving your sleep hygiene.

I discovered that I was actually sleeping better than I thought I was but nowhere near as well as I could if I took more exercise and drank less caffeine.  Obvious but sometimes you need to see it in front of you and to have the gentle push to do something about it.

The S+ is available at £129.95 from Amazon and John Lewis - the price of a top of the range fitness tracker.  If sleep is your main health niggle, then I think it is a worthwhile investment.

For more information about S+ by ResMed, visit http://splus.resmed.com/ and follow @FixMySleep on Twitter.

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8 Tips For Parents To Make Coping With The Clocks Going Forward Easier

This year the clocks go forward on Sunday 26th March at 1 am just in time for Mother's Day!

This is clearly bad news for the sleep deprived and if you have very young children you will probably find you'll be up as soon as they open their eyes.

Luckily, Caitlin and Ieuan are now at the age where we can negotiate with them (i.e. bribe them) to stay into their rooms till a vaguely decent hour (anything past 7 am).  It does get easier I promise you.

I remember though how tough it was when they were younger.

Whilst it is easier for us adults to adapt to the effect of the change to our body clocks, it's less simple for our kids.

I say easier for adults, although I once had a friend who would spend the entire day following a clock change asking "but what time is it really"?

Are there ways to make it easier on yourself?

Here are some things you could try.

Prepare yourself a few days before

You may find you cope better if you adjust your own sleep routine, starting a couple of days before.

You could try going to bed 10-15 minutes earlier each night and waking up 10-15 minutes earlier each morning. When Sunday arrives, you will already be adjusted and when the kids bound into your room at 5 am it won't be so much of a shock (hopefully!).

You could also try the same approach with the children's bedtime / wake-up time.

Watch what they eat close to bed time

We know that certain foods help us to feel sleepy.  For example, milk contains tryptophan which increases the amount of serotonin  - a natural sedative.  Eating a banana with milk also provides vitamin B6 which helps convert the tryptophan to serotonin. Needless to say, high sugar foods close to bedtime are a no-no!  

If your children haven't eaten much that day you could always try a small portion of porridge (not a high sugar cereal) to help settle little tums or even a couple of cubes of cheese.

Reduce nap times

If your children are still napping, consider reducing their nap time by a quarter of an hour or so the day before to ensure that they are a little more tired at bedtime. If you're extra brave, do away with the nap altogether, although this isn't a good long-term strategy because you may find their sleep patterns are disrupted because they get too tired. A one-off won't hurt.

Get busy the day before

Plan a few activities the day before so that you are out and about in the fresh air. It's hard to feel naturally tired if you are indoors all day. We are spoiled for places to visit near Cardiff and can be in the open countryside in about half an hour.

Stick to your usual bedtime routine

Make sure you stick to your usual bedtime routine so that the children are able to go to sleep easily. A warm bath, milk and a cosy story - all the usual weapons in your sleep armoury should be used!

Block out the sun

When the sunlight comes streaming through the curtains it's hard for anyone to sleep. Good blackout blinds or a blackout lining added to the curtains in your children's bedrooms will really help, as will something simple like a venetian or roller blind.

Change the clocks the night before

Get it over with I say!  If you don't change them till you wake up there's a risk you might forget the time has changed and be late for football/church/the pub (kidding!).

Don't forget to alter the clocks on anything that doesn't automatically update.

Make the most of the extra hour

If you're pretty sure you're going to be up extra early, why not prepare a special breakfast with one or two treats like some pastries and fresh orange juice.

You could even go for an early swim, cycle or walk.

Yes I know most of us will be slumped in an armchair clutching a mug of coffee but the thought is there ...

Go to bed a bit earlier on the Sunday

If all else fails, you can all have a slightly earlier night on Sunday, safe in the knowledge that at least you won't have to do the school run.

Here's hoping you all have a restful Saturday night.

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Get To Know Your Child Better Through Their Dreams

We all know how important sleep is for our children's health but have you ever thought that getting them to share their dreams will give you an insight into their hopes and fears and the person they are becoming?

These days I don't always remember my dreams but I can still remember the scary dreams I had as a child about monsters under the bed and goblins in the wardrobe!

Adjustamatic, who make adjustable beds have teamed up with sleep expert Ian Wallace to explain how understanding our children's dreams gives us an amazing opportunity to get to know our little people better in the rather touching video below.

 

Apparently, it is quite normal to dream about goblins, elves and fairies around the ages 5-7 because it is at that age that we begin to understand power hierarchies and to learn about rules.  Not surprising when you think that this is the age when kids move towards a more formal education - a little less play and a lot more expectations from them.

It is also in our dreams as well that we process those things that are upsetting and that are big concepts for us to understand, such as death. The 'bad' things that happen to your child may well make an appearance in bad dreams.

Both Caitlin and Ieuan have had periods of bad dreams where they have shouted in the night and needed comfort and when asked in the morning, it is always pretty obvious to us what the cause of the bad dream has been.

Ian Wallace describes dreams as the 'ultimate selfie' because we are able to explore different aspects of our personality, try on new characters and be honest with ourselves about how we really feel.  And it's the same for our children.

So how can we encourage our children to talk about their dreams in a positive way?  And, if they are having difficulty sleeping, how can we help them?

Here are some useful tips.

*Make sure that their bedrooms are conducive to good sleep.  Some children hate a room that is too dark and appreciate a nightlight or a torch by their bedside.  Consider blackout blinds or curtain linings if too much light is keeping them awake - for example from an outside light, or early morning sunlight.

*Is their mattress comfortable?  As a child grows and gets heavier, they will need a mattress with additional support.  All mattresses should be replaced once they are around 8 years old.

*Do they have a good bedtime routine?  Children around 7 still need 9-11 hours so a wake-up time of 7 am for school means a bedtime of around 7:30 - 8 pm.

*Do they have sufficient 'wind-down' time? The advice is to switch off iPads and tablets at least an hour before going to bed. Reading a bedtime story is a much better substitute for extra game time as it is calming and bonding for both of you - and a great opportunity for your child to talk about anything that is bothering them before they drop off to sleep.

*Make time to talk about your child's dreams with them.  You could share something you dreamed about and encourage them to return the favour.  You could get them to draw some of the creatures that have appeared in their dream.

*If they have woken in the night with a nightmare, gently ask them what it was about (be aware that they often don't remember) and see if they can tell you what they think caused it.  You may have your own ideas of course but children often see things very differently than we do.

*Some children need a comforter, special teddy or blanket for security and it is normal to need these for longer than you might think.  We bought Caitlin and Ieuan dream-catchers which hang on their windows.

*It may also help if you share some of your bad dreams (in a light-hearted way, so as not to distress your child further) and to explain that some dreams are universal - for example falling or losing your teeth!

The famous psychologist Sigmund Freud recognised the importance of studying our dreams to understand our subconscious mind and wrote a classic book on the subject: "The Interpretation of Dreams" - and many of his theories are still accepted today.

It is through our, and our children's dreams that we get the chance to acknowledge what is happening in our lives and to truly acknowledge how we feel about it.

Why not ask your kids to share their dreams with you - you might be surprised and enlightened at what you learn.

And with this knowledge, you'll have an extra string to your parenting bow when it comes to building a strong, supportive relationship with your children on their road to adulthood.

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